From the time I first touched clay, my work has come from the thing I find most dear to my heart….the people around me. The clay allows me to connect with these people in both a spiritual and creative way. The characters I sculpt are people I once knew, people I barely knew, or people I'd like to someday meet. I avoid realism in many of the characters and instead focus on combining humor and a bit of the whimsical. I don't always have a clear concept of the piece as I first touch the clay, but soon, each of the unique characters begins to come alive. As every human being has a story, so does each of my characters. I try to tell a piece of that story and leave the rest to the imagination of the audience.